Pep Guardiola is into the final year of his Manchester City contract, with even club staff at the Etihad Stadium unsure as to what his future holds.
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Catalan coach moved to England in 2016Overseen era of dominance across eight yearsUncertainty regarding what happens next(C)GettyImagesWHAT HAPPENED?
The Catalan coach has been in his current post since 2016, with an English adventure taken on following successful spells in charge of Barcelona and Bayern Munich. At the time of his appointment, few could have predicted that he would remain at the helm eight years later – with six Premier League titles, a couple of FA Cups, four League Cup wins and a Champions League triumph to his name.
AdvertisementWILL GUARDIOLA STAY?
It remains to be seen how much longer Guardiola will be sticking around, with no clues being given as to his way of thinking. There has been talk among those on the blue half of Manchester of extensions, 12-month sabbaticals or a fresh start being sought, with City hero Paul Dickov – speaking in association with – telling GOAL when asked what happens next: “He’s the best, we all know that. With only having this year left, every press conference that he does, every interview that anybody connected with the club is going to do, is going to get asked that question until he decides what he does with his future. We’re all hoping that he does extend – not just City fans but the Premier League in general, he’s been that influential. I really don’t know. I was out in pre-season and speaking to some of the people within the club and trying to get a little hint of what Pep was going to do, but they were genuinely saying themselves that they don’t know. They want Pep to make that decision when he’s ready.
“The one thing on a positive note, sometimes in pre-season as players and staff when you are away for a long time, it can be a little bit of a drag, but I have never seen Pep look as energised in a long time. In and around the hotel, on the training pitch and especially in his press conferences, he seemed to have a little bit of a buzz about him and energy that maybe we haven’t seen the last couple of years because it has been long seasons, short post-seasons and straight into pre-season. He’s probably looked a bit tired, but he’s now energised and bubbly and raring to go. Hopefully that’s a good sign.”
Getty ImagesCOULD GUARDIOLA TAKE ENGLAND JOB?
There has been talk of the Football Association making a play for Guardiola, with Lee Carsley taking charge of England on an interim basis following the departure of Gareth Southgate. As a former Scotland international, Dickov said when asked if he is hoping to see those rumours disappear as quickly as possible: “Definitely! If there is any job going at any club, or whether it be any country, because he’s in the last year of his contract, Pep’s name is going to get mentioned. When we were out in the States, all of the fans out there were saying that Pep is going to come and manage the U.S. national team. All England fans are saying that they want Pep to come and do the England team. Any job that is out there, he is going to be the one that is linked to it. He’s an intelligent guy, he will know what his plan is and what he wants to do. We just have to keep our fingers crossed that it’s staying in Manchester.”
MORE TRANSFER BUSINESS?
Guardiola has overseen plenty of transfer business during his time at City, but little of that has been completed this summer – with Brazilian winger Savinho the only new arrival. Asked if he expects more movement before the next deadline passing, Dickov said: “Usually I get a little inkling from people in and around the club, but it has been very quiet. You would think that with Julian Alvarez leaving, the money that we have got for him – that’s incredible business, from £14m to £81m in a couple of years. Maybe it’s getting a back-up for [Erling] Haaland, if he needs a rest or is injured. The problem you have got is, any top player who wants to come to Manchester City won’t want to play second fiddle to Haaland. We have seen that with Julian. His numbers over the last couple of years, the trophies that he has won and the impact that he has made when he has played, he’s probably looked at it and thought that he’s still not going to play in the position he wants. That’s the problem if City are going to go for the top players that they want to get – they are going to want to come in and play.
"I look at the signings like Savinho etc, do they go for somebody a little bit younger that they can bed in and have an impact? [Jeremy] Doku last season, probably played a bit more than he expected to because of injuries to Jack [Grealish] and his form, so it might be a younger talent to come in that can still have an impact when needed.”